Wimbledon AI line calls are too quiet for players and fans

Times

11 hours ago

Technology's debut replacing human line judges at Wimbledon began with complaints from players and spectators that they struggled to hear the calls.
Yue Yuan interrupted her match against Eva Lys to ask the umpire to turn up the volume.
Courts were noticeably quieter without the booming calls of 'out' and 'fault' and appeared almost under-dressed without the nine smartly dressed line judges standing duty. The disembodied calls from hidden speakers come from the Hawk-Eye system that uses cameras and advanced algorithms to track balls with pinpoint accuracy.
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Yuan, 26, said after losing the match: 'The voice, I cannot really hear it. It is a bit too low. So I asked the umpire, 'Can you improve it up a little bit?' He said he cannot. He said he will try to let us know [the call] because he has a machine that can look it up, and if we didn't realise [the call], he can let us know.'
The announcements have been recorded from the voices of 20 members of staff at the All England Club. Yuan, from China, said she 'didn't really mind' the voice but noted that the umpire's call 'is a lot more loud than the automatic one'.
There is no visual sign to replace the line judge's outstretched arm.
Paul Schmidt, 28, a German tennis fan who was dressed as John McEnroe, watched the match with his father, Hendrik Schmidt, 58, dressed as Bjorn Borg. 'They would serve and then hit three or four returns and then came the call that the serve was out,' Schmidt said.
A spokesman for the All England Club said: 'We continually monitor all aspects of live electronic line calling on each court throughout the day. The volume is set to ensure calls can be heard by umpires, players and spectators without impacting on other courts and will be adjusted as necessary.'
Britain's Cameron Norrie, 29, said after his victory over Roberto Bautista Agut: 'I was lucky enough to play on an isolated court on Court 18. At the beginning I thought it could be a bit quiet [but] it never made any difference, and I was able to hear what was being called and what was not.'
However, Norrie said he missed the line judges. 'I think it looks cool with the people there. It looks traditional. Obviously there's a lot of jobs and people that love tennis, which will definitely be missed from them.'
Sonay Kartal, the first British player to experience the AI line-judge system in her upset win over Jelena Ostapenko, said she was 'a bit sad' to learn the human line judges were being replaced. 'I kind of like the tradition,' she said. 'Obviously, the game is developing. I guess we've all got to kind of follow suit.'
Aryna Sabalenka, the top-seeded woman, said after her victory over Carson Branstine on No 1 Court that she was 'probably leaning towards' the AI system. 'If you have line umpires, you are always thinking, 'Should I challenge or shouldn't I?' It's a lot of doubt in your head, like an extra doubt. Why would you have it?'
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Outside the grounds, Harry Robson, 27, and Gabriel Paul, 26, were dressed as line judges and carried placards reading 'AI took my job', 'Don't sideline humans' and 'Don't let the bots call the shots'.
'I think it's a wider problem about human beings being replaced by AI,' Paul said. 'It loses some drama from the actual game. Someone said to me, 'What would John McEnroe have shouted at?''
Two spectators from Hampshire, who preferred not to be named, said they had noticed the change 'a lot' as they watched Britain's Oliver Tarvet beat Switzerland's Leandro Riedi on Court 4. 'We couldn't really hear much,' one said. The other added: 'It's quite faint. You don't get that instant reaction of knowing if it's in or out.'
Eighty of the 350 line judges have been selected as umpire assistants. They have been relegated to sit off court looking uncomfortable just in front of the youngsters who hold umbrellas over the players and provide chilled towels during breaks in play.
Sally Bolton, Wimbledon's chief executive, said: 'The decision we've made is very much about the way in which Wimbledon has always balanced heritage and tradition with innovation. It was time to make that change. It's not a money-saving exercise. It's about evolving a tournament and making sure that we're providing the most effective possible line-calling.'
The ball boys and girls have been left alone in their positions around the court without the support of the line judges.